Rihanna at the Met Gala, 2018
Daily Photo – Dress, coat and mitre worn by Rihanna for the Met Gala, 2018
I’d spent the morning riding free trams and trains across the city of Melbourne and on more than one occasion I’d seen a poster advertising something called the ‘Diva Exhibition’. Not at all sure what it was, I’d discovered through a bit of research that it was a collection of famous dresses and costumes worn by some of the most famous women in the world from throughout history – accompanied with photos and information from their performances. Well, all I can say is that curiosity got the better of me and thinking it might give me an opportunity to play with a few new settings I’d recently discovered on my iPhone camera, I decided to take a look.
Knowing this wasn’t my usual area of expertise, I nervously shuffled in behind a gaggle of ladies and spent the next 45 minutes making my way through a series of darkened rooms feeling quite bewildered. There were names I recognised, like Olivia Newton-John, (featuring a custom-made, rhinestone-clad biker jacket for her “Summer Nights” Las Vegas residency,) and Kylie Minogue, (with the bright red outfit from her Padam Padam video with a skin-tight bodysuit, a flowing cape, and thigh-high boots.) all of which I really didn’t know anything about.
The deeper I went, the more elaborate things became. There were pieces worn by Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Bassey, and Elton John. The names kept coming, from Maria Callas, Judy Garland, Cher and Lady Gaga through to Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Billie Eilish. Without knowing who wore what or why it mattered, I wandered around waiting for large groups of ladies to finish standing in elaborate poses next to each garment before I could read the extremely helpful information boards, which without, I would have been quite lost. For example, without them, I couldn’t tell you that the outfit worn by Rihanna at the 2018 Met Gala was designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela. It featured layers of fabric, metal, and crystals, all put together with a level of precision and expertise that really was quite startling. What struck me most, beyond the incredibly thin waistlines some of these ladies had, was that I’d never once thought about the meaning behind these outfits. Walking through the exhibition, it became clear that they’re something else entirely: storytelling, identity and statements.
Later on that evening I was to discover that not only are Rihanna and Beyoncé two different people but the outfit Rihanna wore at the 2018 Met Gala was groundbreaking. It challenged symbols of ancient, masculine power and reinterpreted them through the lens of a modern woman and is considered a defining moment. I then typed into Google “What is the Met Gala?”
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